(1) Field
The present inventions relate generally to transaction cards and, more particularly, to transaction and proximity cards having an improved construction and systems for utilizing such cards.
(2) Related Art
Transaction cards have been currently adapted for a wide variety of uses, most commonly as a method of payment in commercial transactions. For example, a user may purchase a fare for transportation at a kiosk.
The growing popularity of near field communication (NFC) technologies such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags has resulted in its implementation in proximity cards as well. The kiosk may dispense a NFC-containing card with the number of uses stored within. The user may quickly pay for the transportation by simply scanning the card upon entering the vehicle. Ideally, these cards should be cheaply produced, such that when the card expires it may simply be disposed of.
Proximity cards incorporating NFC technologies have been limited in design due to structural constraints. The proximity cards must be built with sufficient durability such that the RFID tags contained within do not become destroyed and nonfunctional with nominal wear and tear. These cards have been required to be of higher thickness due to the multiple layers needed to accommodate its use as a NFC device.
Thus, there remains a need for new and improved transaction and proximity cards and systems which includes a card having only one top ply and only one bottom ply and a layer of high elongation adhesive between each of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply which reduces the cost to produce the cards while, at the same time, provides a level of appearance, strength and durability comparable or greater than conventional multilayer stacked cards.